Festival of Colour launches 2013 programme

LAKE WANAKA, New
Zealand (February 14, 2013) – The Southern Lakes Festival
of Colour today announced its 2013 programme that features
an international mix of theatre, art, dance, conversation
and music against the spectacular autumn scenery of the
Southern Lakes region.

Highlights of the 2013
festival include two world premieres as well as the power
and energy of NZ’s top dance company and a visit from one
of the world's most celebrated investigative journalists
during six action-packed days from 16-21 April.

In
one premiere, Michael Houstoun teams up with soprano Jenny
Wollerman for Between Darkness and Light. This
remarkable performance moves the audience from night through
to morning with a compelling series of songs from the last
200 years accompanied by full theatrical lighting.

The second premiere is Tracing Hamlet, a
deconstructed production of the Shakespeare classic set in
Puzzling World's famous maze and illusion rooms. Leading
professional director, Sara Brodie is working with local
artists and performance students from Mt Aspiring College
for this true Wanaka original.

Aspiring
Conversations is once again a real festival highlight. This
year veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh tops the
bill with two hard-hitting sessions on US foreign policy.
Hersh won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the 1969 My Lai
massacre in Vietnam and also broke the story of the US
military's mistreatment of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib
prison in 2004.

“Seymour is a star performer and
his appearance is a real coup,” said festival director,
Philip Tremewan. “He'll be talking about American wars
past, present and future as well as how one finds out the
truth from government and military agencies who wish to keep
it concealed. This is all highly relevant for New Zealand
given its involvement in global conflict as a close ally of
the US."

New Zealand's own investigative journalist
Nicky Hager, hugely out of favour with PM John Key and his
predecessor Helen Clark, is also speaking on this
country’s presence in Afghanistan whilst there are
separate Aspiring Conversations on religion, poetry, art and
politics.

New Zealand's top contemporary dance
company, Black Grace brings its spectacular Vaka to
Wanaka and Queenstown especially for the festival. There are
just two performances of the show that’s taken Europe by
storm – an explosive mix of Pacific culture and
contemporary dance.

Other theatrical highlights
include a brand new Dave Armstrong comedy Kings of the
Gym,another Auckland Theatre Company production
On the Upside Down of the World, beat generation
piece Beautiful Losers and SALON, a
sister-piece to 2011 festival favourite, HOTEL set in
a real hair salon with the audience limited to just 15 for
each performance.

The musical programme is eclectic,
electric and acoustic featuring New Zealand Guitar Quartet,
Electric Wire Hustle (performing with their parents!), NZ
Music Awards 2012 winner Amiria Grenell, the country's
leading percussion group Strike, New Zealand queen of soul
Bella Kalolo and the Yoots, a calypso-ska supergroup led by
Fat Freddy's Drop trombonist, Hopepa.

Mike
Oldfield's Tubular Bells for Two sold out at the
Edinburgh and Wellington Festivals – just two musicians
recreate the classic album live with no extra hands.
Fabulous Arabia is another double-act sure to sell out with
Lawrence Arabia and Mike Fabulous (Black Seeds) joining
forces with a backing band of heavyweight musos from Fat
Freddy's Drop, Trinity Roots and others.

Songs to
Leave Behind is an astonishingly powerful performance by
three of the country's finest singer-songwriters – Julia
Deans, Anna Coddington and Don McGlashan. Specially
commissioned for the Christchurch Festival after the quakes,
they lay hearts and voices on the line celebrating the power
of song.

BabyO is an altogether different
experience – Scottish Opera's interactive mini-opera
specially composed for babies proves you’re never too
young to enjoy music.

The festival’s touring
programme once again takes in Queenstown with several shows
at the newly refurbished Memorial Hall. There are also
theatrical performances this year in Hawea, Luggate and
Cromwell.

Lakefront visual art, local exhibitions,
street theatre and a schools programme complete this year's
celebration of the arts in the Southern Lakes. For
information on the full programme, visit www.festivalofcolour.co.nz. Tickets are
on general release from 25 February 2013 and are available
through the website or by calling 03 443 4162.

The
2013 Festival of Colour takes place from 16-21 April and is
generously supported by Central Lakes Trust, The Community
Trust of Otago, Creative New Zealand and Aurora Energy.

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